


Racing to You

by C_Xavierr



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Domestic Fluff, Falling In Love, Journalist Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), M/M, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:15:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27972200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/C_Xavierr/pseuds/C_Xavierr
Summary: Levi is a full time working journalist, single dad and Erwin is the newest, fastest, race car driver.
Relationships: Levi/Erwin Smith
Comments: 11
Kudos: 84





	1. Tall, Blond and Gorgeous

Friday mornings were Levi’s favorite, work started later in the day, the kids for some reason were always on their best behaviour and it was the last workday before his much needed weekend. Levi opens his eyes to see Eren and Mikasa sleeping peacefully beside him, they were in the weirdest positions, Eren’s legs were on top of Mikasa, but they were sound asleep. Levi slips out of bed quietly making sure not to wake them and makes his way to the living room. “Jesus,” he says quietly, staring at the person sitting on his couch. “Stop breaking into my fucking apartment, one of these days I could kill you.”

“As if,” Hanji says, going through the channels on Levi’s TV. “You wouldn’t kill me, you love me too much to kill me.”

“I gotta remember to take your keys away.” He says taking a seat next to them. Ever since Levi lost his babysitter there was no one to watch the kids, thankfully he had Hanji, with Levi having to work some weird hours of the days he was glad he had someone to watch the kids.

“Oh, did you hear the news?” Hanji asks, finally stopping on a channel.

“Did someone die again?” Levi asks flatly, a weird string of world known people have been dying left and right, Levi would write something about but he was scared that there would be a target on his head.

“What, no!” They say pointing to the TV. “There’s a new race car driver in town, I heard he’s the fastest anyone has seen in a long time.” Levi stares at his tv reading the headlines,  _ Erwin Smith _ , he read to himself. “I think I’m gonna write my next piece on him.” Hanji says clapping their hands

“You haven’t written about anything sports related in years.” He says, he couldn’t remember the last piece Hanji was working on, it most likely had something to do with the price rise of insulin. “Why would you go back to such a horrid thing?” He asks remembering all the nights they spent trying to interview young athletes, so many nights wasted but at least they were getting paid to do it.   


“A change would be nice and let’s be honest here the prices of insulin are only gonna go up, I can’t write anything that I haven’t written to change anyone’s mind.” They say staring at the tv.

They sit on the couch watching the news, Levi still felt tired and could feel himself slowly start to fall asleep but is surely awakened by a little kid pulling on his arm. “Morning,” Levi says, cupping Eren’s face. “How’d you sleep?” He asks, pulling him onto his lap, he felt warm from all of the blankets on his bed.

“Fine I guess,” he says wrapping his small arms around Levi. “I’m hungry though.” He says blocking Levi’s view of the tv.

“Is Mikasa still asleep?” He asks, watching Eren nod his head. “I guess you get to decide what we eat.” He says handing him to Hanji. He stretches his legs and heads to the kitchen, Eren is on Hanji’s shoulders, following him to the kitchen.

“What’s for breakfast?” Hanji asks looking up at Eren.

“French toast!” He says with a smile.

“French toast it is.” Levi says opening up the fridge, getting all the things he needed. He makes himself a cup of coffee before starting on breakfast, he checks in on Hanji and Eren to see them running around in the living room, tiring themselves out, by this rate Eren would hopefully be tired by lunch. “Keep it down,” he says, warning the both of them. “People are still sleeping.” He checks in on Mikasa to see that she was still sound asleep. 

He makes 3 plates of french toast for the kids and Hanji, he didn’t want something overly sweet this early so he made himself eggs and bacon, something simple that would fill him up until lunch. He grabs Eren and Hanji from the living room telling them to set the table as he goes to get Mikasa. “Sleepyhead it’s time for breakfast.” he says, shaking her lightly, he pulls the blankets off of her trying his best to wake her up without upsetting her. She sat up, her arms immediately out, reaching for Levi. “Mornin.” He says taking her to the bathroom, splashing her face with some cold water before taking her to the dining room.

He sits her down next to Eren, who was already devouring his food. Levi couldn’t help but stare at the boy in awe, how could such a tiny human make such a big mess on himself. “Calm down.” Levi says handing him a napkin, so that he could wipe his face, he was definitely gonna need a bath later. Hanji stared at their phone, reading whatever interested them while Eren and Mikasa were talking among themselves with their mouths full. Mornings like these are what Levi liked.

“Holy crap!” Hanji says dropping their fork, their mouth wide open for the kids to see all the chewed up food that should’ve fallen out but somehow didn’t.

“Close your mouth or they’ll copy you.” He says quickly, going to close Eren’s mouth who was trying his best to imitate Hanji

“They’ll let me do it.” They say with excitement.

“Let you do what?” He asks, genuinely confused on what just happened.

“They’ll let me write a piece on Erwin Smith.” They say with a smile, clapping their hands together. “Apparently he has read some of our stuff.”

“Our?” He asks, staring up at them. “Most of the crap we’ve written together is like 7 years old.”

“I know which means he has taste!” Levi couldn’t help but roll his eyes, most of the stuff they wrote together was just to bring money to the tables, anything that could pay the bills, most of it was unreliable bullshit but people still read it. “You should come with me!” Hange yells slamming her hands down on the table.

“Go to a race car track?” He asks.

“Yes, it could be fun!”

“I think you're forgetting something.” He says pointing to his kids.

“Bring them with us!” Hanji yells.

Levi didn’t want to bring the kids to a race car track, that was such a bad idea, the only one who would behave would probably be Mikasa, Eren was the one to worry about. “Race car track!” Eren yells, standing on his chair, Mikasa was tugging on the sleeves of his shirt, telling him to sit down before Levi yelled at him. “Dad, dad, can we go?” He asks practically jumping all over the place. Levi couldn’t help but stare right into Hanji’s soul, he wanted to have a chill Friday, not spend most of his time chasing Eren around a race car track.

“I don’t know bud, I’m pretty-”

“Please!” He yells, cutting him off, he grabbed his hands and was staring at Levi, begging with his eyes. He looked back and forth to him and Hanji, hoping that they would say something to convince Levi to say yes.

“It’s dangerous for a kid to be at.” Levi states, finally taking a bite into his breakfast.

“Daddy please!” He yells. All Levi could do was puff his chest, Hanji was giving him sorry eyes but he looked straight past those.

“I wanna go.” A soft voice says, walking over to cling onto Levi’s side. Mikasa was never one to have any desire to leave the house but here she was.

“I’ll think about, if you guys are on your best behaviour while I work.” He says staring at Eren knowing that it could be a challenge for him, all the young boy did was nod his head, he was jumping for joy.

To Levi’s surprise Eren was on his best behavior, ever since he lost his babysitter he’s been taking the kids to the office if Hanji wasn’t available. Usually Eren would be running around, playing with Levi’s co-workers as he finished something up, but the once energetic boy was sitting still in the chair in front of them. Levi could finally write without having to worry about Eren. “Dad.” Mikasa says, standing beside him, Levi hums at her, wanting to finish this sentence he was writing before shifting his focus. “Can I sit with you?” She asks, pulling on Levi’s sides.

“Just a moment hon, Eren turn the volume down, it’s too loud.”

“Sorry dad.” The younger boy says, turning the volume of his phone down. Levi was amazed to see Eren be so obedient, he turned over to Mikasa, putting her on his lap. Mikasa watched as Levi’s fingers ran across the keyboard, she was amazed at how fast he was moving. Mikasa would eventually fall asleep in his lap, Levi didn’t give her screen time due to the fact that she hogged his phone all afternoon yesterday.

“Eren,” Levi says typing up the last paragraph of his article. “I’m almost finished, go find Hanji and tell them were ready to go.” Eren ran out of his office so fast, running to Hanji’s office. Once Levi was done with his article, he simply closed his laptop, he would send it off to people on Monday meaning he was officially done with work. He picked Mikasa up letting her sleep in his arms, not wanting to wake her up so soon after falling asleep so fast. He grabbed his bag which had all the things he needed to survive an outing with his kids and walked over to Hanji’s office.

“You all done?” Hanji asks, picking Eren up into their arms, Eren was beaming with excitement, if you couldn’t see it on his face you could definitely see it everywhere else, he couldn’t stop moving.

“Light editing will be done Monday but other than that I’m all done.” They head to the elevator, making their way to Levi’s car. Buckling the kids in the car was easier than usual, thanks to Hanji being here, Eren’s excitement was slowly starting to go down thanks to being tired out from this morning. 10 minutes into the drive both kids were soudfully asleep. “You plan on writing more of him after this?” He asks, looking over at Hanji who was jotting questions down.

“We’ll see, he’s competing next week so if he wins I might contact him.”

“Did you find anything interesting about him?”

“If you’re asking if he has a secret corrupted life the answer is no,” Hanji laughs, knowing that after Levi’s article is published he would have to find another corrupt politician/important figure to expose. “Only secret-ish thing I found about him was his past career as a lawyer.”

“Lawyer turned race car driver, nice.”

“Couldn’t find any dirt on him, sorry. Maybe you could write a piece about how a lawyer turned into a race car driver?”  
“Fuck no, sounds boring, I’ll stick with the corrupted people and their affairs.” Levi stays quiet, for the sake of his children and so that Hanji could focus more. They were shaking in their seats, it was nice to change what you write every once and awhile, it left Hanji excited. Levi looked at his mirror, eyeing the backseat, Eren and Mikasa were still asleep, both of their heads leaning on the window, their tiny hands curled up in their lap. “They’re so quiet,” Levi says quietly.

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Hanji asks.

“No, it means that they're gonna be little shits later.” He murmurs, thinking about the multiple possibilities of what could happen once they got home, the last time the kids acted like angels they both made a mess in the living room and it made Levi’s skin boil, he hated how messy children could get, he thought he raised them to be just as clean as him but boy was he wrong.

When they arrived at the track, it looked abandoned, Levi was weary of Hanji’s directional skills but listened to them so that they could stop making him swerve in the street. “Are you sure this is the right place?” Levi asks, getting out of the car, getting Eren out of his carseat.

“Yes I’m sure, will you stop worrying already.” Hanji says, opening the door to get Mikasa out. “It’s only Erwin and his team here that’s why it looks so empty.” Mikasa woke up but thankfully didn’t start a fit after being awakened. Eren on the other hand who woke up after hearing one of the car doors close, was already jumping out of Levi’s arms.

“Dad let me go!” He says trying to pry away from Levi.

“Hey you little brat you still need to be on your best behavior.” Levi says, tightening his grip around Eren, making sure he couldn’t escape him. He grabbed his bag from out of the trunk and helped Hanji carry some things in. They set up base in one of the very big conference rooms that you see on tv, people from Erwin’s team greeted them.

“Dad,” Eren says, throwing his head back in pure annoyance. “I wanna see the cars.”

“Can you wait until Hanji and I are done. Your sister just woke up from her nap, I don’t want you being alone while I help Hanji work.” Levi says calmly, unpacking Hanji’s things. He opens his bag handing the kids something to eat, while they’re eating they’ll be still and quiet, something that Levi needed from Eren. The kids sat side by side, Eren was showing Mikasa all the cool animals of his animal crackers, imitating the noises each animal made. Mikasa who was usually quiet, copied her brother for the first time, it made Levi’s heart flutter, watching the progress Mikasa had made.

“Would you look at that?” Hanji says pointing over to the entrance, a tall man wearing his tracksuit entered the room, his hair was messy and he was sweaty. It was no mistake that the man standing in front of them was Erwin Smith, unless that name patch that was across his right arm was wrong.

“Tall, blond and gorgeous.” Levi says eyeing him.

“Erwin!” Hanji yells greeting him. “Nice to meet you!” They say with a smile shaking his hand.

“Nice to meet you as well.” He says returning a smile, Levi could hear tiny footsteps come from behind him, grabbing him from behind.

“This is my co-worker Levi,” Hanji says introducing him.

“Levi Ackerman,” Erwin says with his hand out, Levi didn’t want to shake it, the man was still hot and sweaty, he didn’t want to seem disrespectful, for Hanji’s sake. “I’ve read some of your articles, you’re a fine writer.” 

Before Levi could stick his hand out, Eren stood in front of him shaking it for him. “He doesn’t like shaking other people’s hands, says they're dirty.” He says with his cheerful smile, Levi couldn’t help but choke and Hanji couldn’t help but laugh. Erwin kneeled down, getting to Eren’s level to get a look at the younger boy.

“What’s your name?” Erwin asks.

“Eren,” he responds, he looks back at Mikasa pulling her away from Levi. “And this is my sister Mikasa, she’s shy.”

“Eren!” Levi says, pulling his son away. “How many times have I told you not to interrupt the adults when they’re working, especially if it’s Hanji working?”

“Okay kiddos, how about we give Levi some space!” Hanji says barging into their conversation, it was a thing they did, Hanji was always so weak when it came to the kids. Couldn’t handle seeing them get disciplined by Levi.

“Hanji.” Levi says, staring.

“We’ll be back in 5 minutes.” they say, taking Eren and Mikasa into their arms, walking out of the conference room. 

Levi was left alone with Erwin, he was quite tall, but then again, everything was taller than Levi. Levi couldn’t help but stare at Erwin when he started to take off his uniform, he took off his gloves, throwing them to the side before unzipping himself out, his messy blonde hair was pushed out of his face, slicked back to the point where Levi could see all his features. “Sorry about him,” he says, feeling embarrassed from Eren’s behavior. “Kid’s got no self control.”

“It’s fine,” Erwin says, taking a seat. “Are they yours?” He asks.

“Yeah, Eren is 4 and Mikasa will be 5 soon.” Levi says, thinking about the things he’ll have to do for Mikasa’s party if she wants to have one. Knowing his kids she would say no but Eren would insist on having one. “So, lawyer turned race car driver, how does that happen exactly?” Levi asks, changing the subject from his kids to Erwin’s work life.

“A friend brought me to the tracks, ever since then the need for speed has been something I constantly crave.”

“And your career as a lawyer?”

“Temporarily on hold, I actually planned on quitting my job so that I could open up my own firm but here I am driving cars.”

“So law school was a waste?” Levi asks, wondering how Erwin would react to him. Most people couldn’t handle Levi’s bluntness, it made him come off as rude which wasn’t something he was trying to do, for the most part. When people read his articles they praised him for how blunt he and his writing was, the people his articles wrote about hated him, one even tried to sue him for defamation.

“I plan on being a lawyer again once I’m done with this, so no, law school was not a waste of time.” He says calmly.

“Dad!” Eren yells, running into the room, making Levi turn his head. “Can I drive the car?” He asks, running towards him with goldfish in his hands.

“No Eren, you’re too small.”

“You’re small too but you can drive a car.” Erwin held back his laughter, Levi couldn’t believe his own son was attacking him for something he couldn’t control.

“Little brat.” He says picking him up, throwing him over his shoulders. “Mikasa come take your brother’s snacks.” He says staring at his daughter, who had just entered the room. The small girl came running, snatching the goldfish out of his hands.

“Hey my goldfish!” Eren yells, kicking his feet.

“You were being mean to dad.” Mikasa says quietly.

“Was not!” He says crossing his arms.

“Was too.” Levi says leaning down towards Mikasa, his mouth open, waiting for her to put some goldfish in his mouth. Levi eventually puts Eren down, the sight of the dirty soles of his shoes was enough to no longer tease him.

“I’m sorry dad.” He murmurs.

Levi sticks his hand out, running his fingers through Eren’s brown locks. “Go play quietly,” he says leaning down at his kids. “We’ll do something fun once Hanji is finished.” 


	2. Playdates

Levi wakes up once again to find his children in weird sleeping positions, Eren’s foot was laying on his chest while his body was faced away from his and Mikasa’s hand laid peacefully on his face while the rest of her body was sprawled out on Levi’s king sized bed. Levi moved both of their limbs off his body carefully, reaching for his phone that was on the nightstand. He checked the news first, wanting to see if anything interesting happened over night but to no surprise nothing exciting was happening. He didn’t even bother texting Hanji knowing that they’re most likely hungover or still knocked out.

Yesterday’s interview with Erwin went longer than expected, there was nothing wrong with that, it just happened sometimes. Levi found himself falling asleep in a chair, his kids were quietly playing on his phone until Hanji was finished. When Levi woke up it was almost 5 pm, the longest interview Hanji had ever done plus the longest nap he had ever taken with his kids around. 

Levi rolled himself out of bed making sure not to wake the little ones, he leaned over towards Mikasa placing a kiss on her forehead and did the same thing to Eren before leaving the room. Saturdays were Levi’s cleaning days, with his work schedule and demanding children, cleaning everything thoroughly was something that couldn’t be done on normal days of the week. He started in the kitchen, all the dishes in the dishwasher were to be cleaned by hand or until Levi thought they were clean enough. He would then disinfect all table tops, sweep and mop the floor, and do a quick load of laundry before making breakfast.

“Dad.” A small voice says surprising him, the kids usually slept knowing Levi would be cleaning, they didn’t want to clean with him so they avoided it by sleeping.

“Morning.” Levi says, running his fingers through his daughter’s long hair. “How’d you sleep?” He asks, grabbing things out of the fridge.

“Eren kicked me awake.” She says clinging onto Levi’s legs.

“He wouldn’t be kicking you if you two would sleep in your own beds.” Levi says laughing. Eren was a kicker indeed, Levi remembered the nights Eren spent in his bed as a baby kicking him in the face. When the kids were finally old enough to start sleeping in their own beds Levi was so excited to have a peaceful kickless nights, obviously that didn’t last long, a few months after setting up their new beds the kids came crawling back to him.

“Your bed is bigger.” She states, loosening her grip on Levi’s pants.

“My bed might be big but it’s obviously not big enough for Eren to stop kicking us.”

Mikasa took a seat at the table, staring at her dad cooking their breakfast. Levi took a moment to savor how quiet it was, that would all be gone once Eren woke up. “Mikasa,” he says cracking an egg over the stove. “Your birthday is coming up, do you want to do anything?” He asks, Mikasa’s birthday was in a couple months, there was no harm in asking what his daughter wanted a little early.

“A party.” She says quietly, surprising him.

“And who should we invite to this party?” He asks.

“Armin.” 

“Just Armin?” He asks, remembering the blond child they met not so long ago. Levi took the kids to the park during the last days of warm weather before the winter air took over. Eren was too much for the other kids and Mikasa showed no interest which left them alone to play among themselves until one day he saw them playing with Armin near the swingsets. Amazed at their first friend Levi went looking for Armin’s parents, they all sat together watching their children play together until it was time to go. All 3 of the kids started crying, which in Levi’s case was unusual, they said that they didn’t want to go, that they wanted to keep playing with Armin. It was getting too cold and too dark for that to happen so the parents decided to set up a playdate which made their departures much easier.

“And Hanji too.” She says quietly.

“If we tell Hanji they’ll spoil you silly.” Mikasa was smiling, a sight that made Levi melt. He called Mikasa over, handing her plates to set the table. Once the eggs were done cooking Eren made his way to the kitchen, fully awake and hungry.

“Morning.” He says with a smile.

“Morning Eren.” Levi says placing eggs on his plate before giving him a quick kiss.

“Veggie scramble,” Eren says with a hint of disgust. “I want pancakes!”

“No, you had french toast yesterday.” He says calmly knowing that this conversation could go two ways.

“But dad, french toasts and pancakes are two different things.” Eren explains pulling out the chair he always sat in during breakfast.

“Too much sugar isn’t good for you.” He says putting the pan in the sink. “Do you want your teeth to rot or have nice white ones like mine?” He asks, showing him his teeth. Eren learned things better when things were shown to him.

“I want white ones like you!” 

“Then you’ll eat the yummy veggie scramble and won’t complain.” He says taking his seat. Food wasn’t really an issue for them, the kids weren’t picky eaters and generally put anything edible in their mouths which was a bit concerning on Levi’s part. The kids ate their breakfast with gusto, the veggie scramble was also served with buttered bread and their favorite strawberry yogurt. When the kids were done they put their plates in the sink for Levi to wash, they ran to the couch turning on the tv. Levi took his time eating his food, he stared at the tv while eating, thinking of the things he wanted to do today.

The weekends were exclusively work free days, right after getting Eren and Mikasa he made sure not to over work himself for the sake of him and his new family. Levi’s childhood was a rough one, his mom worked 3 jobs to support him which eventually led to her death and then when his uncle Kenny was taking care of him he was never really home. He didn’t want his kids to feel alone like he did.

“Brats,” Levi says, putting his plate in the sink, starting to wash the tiny pile of dishes. “Go brush your teeth, I know you guys thought I forgot.” The kids ran to the bathroom, rushing so that they could go back to the tv.

Levi joined his kids, brushing his teeth and making sure the kids were cleaning theirs. “Dad?” Eren asks with his toothbrush hanging from his mouth. “What time is Armin coming over?” 

“In a couple hours or so.” He says almost forgetting that the playdate was today. He was excited for the kids to have a new friend, excited to talk to people his age who had kids even though he was pretty sure he scared Armin’s parents off a little bit.

“What do you think he likes?” Eren asks, rinsing his mouth.

“I don’t know but you have to remember to play nice,” he says grabbing Eren’s head. “I’m talking to you.”

“I play nice, it’s Mikasa you have to worry about.” He whispered quietly under his breath, Mikasa heard him and kicked him gently off the stool. “Hey!”

“Don’t start fighting.” Levi brushes his teeth thoroughly following with mouthwash after. He leaned down towards the kids making them open up their mouths, examining that every surface was scrubbed cleaned and dismissed them after seeing that they were getting better at brushing their teeth without help.

Levi splashed his face with cold water and stared at himself in the mirror. The bags underneath his eyes were getting worse and he could’ve sworn he saw a wrinkle and his hair was getting long, too long. His once nice shaved undercut was now grown out by a few inches and his bangs were all in his face. Ever since his babysitter left for college he couldn’t get anything done, he thought he could do the whole parenting thing while working but boy was he wrong. The kids required too much of his attention and while his job was very flexible the more attention that was put on the kids meant the less work Levi was doing which led him to stay up more at night.

“Dad!” Eren yells from the living room.

“What?”

“Someone’s calling you!” He yells back.

“If it’s Hanji pick it up.” He replies not wanting to leave the bathroom yet. He didn’t hear any excessive yelling which meant it wasn’t Hanji but he did hear Eren’s footsteps walking towards him. He knocked on the door waiting for a response. “Who was it Eren?” He asks, drying his face.

“It was Armin’s mama, she said that something came up so she can’t hang but Armin’s uncle will hang,” he pauses as the front door rings. “They’re here!” He yells, running away to the front door. Levi came out to see a very overexcited Eren and Mikasa at the door.

“Get away from the door, I can’t open it if the both of you are in the way.” He says pushing them out of the way, he unlocked the door meeting a pair of very familiar piercing blue eyes. “Erwin.” He says sounding surprised, the man who was standing in front of him was almost unrecognizable, the forest green and white tracksuit were replaced with khakis, a nice button up and a trench coat. His blonde hair that was out of place was now slicked back.

“Levi.” He says staring at him with wide eyes.

Levi didn’t know it but he was staring back, Mikasa grabbed a hold of his hand pulling him away from the door and out of his trance. “Uh, come in.” He says opening up the door, Armin was the first one to come in, the kids screamed with excitement as they watched the boy take off his shoes, right as he was barefooted they pulled him in, dragging him to their playroom. “Be gentle!” Levi yells, hoping that they could hear him. Levi opened the door some more realizing that Erwin was still standing outside, the taller man entered the apartment, slipping off his shoes. Levi felt uncomfortably underdressed for being in his own home, his sweatpants and baggy shirt was nothing comparable to what Erwin was wearing.

“How are you feeling?” Erwin asks. “After the interview you seem pretty tired.”

“I still am.” Levi answers, entering the kitchen. “Would you like anything to drink? I have coffee, tea and soda, but I must warn you if you have a soda you must hide it from my kids.”

“Just some water please.” He says, looking around Levi’s apartment. Levi’s apartment was what Hanji called, “unbearably minimalistic.” The apartment was always kept clean, the walls were painted a dark shade of grey and all his furniture except for his couch was either white or black. There was little to none decor in the house, the only thing that was fully decorated was the bookcase next to the tv stand and even to Hanji’s standards that was still too minimalistic. Levi opened the refrigerator door taking out a chilled water, handing it to Erwin, who was wandering around. “How did you meet my sister?” He asks.

“Met her at the park, Eren and Mikasa usually don’t play easy or get along with the other kids but they had some sort of connection with Armin. Exchanged numbers with Allison when the kids started to cry when we had to leave and my kids never cry at something like that.” He says sitting down on the couch.

“Armin has that effect on people.” Erwin says with a soft smile. “So where’s your partner?” He asks, turning around to face him, he takes a seat down on the other side of the couch.

“Partner?” Levi asks.

“Hanji.”

“Oh god no.” Levi says laughing at him. If only he knew how they were when they were together he would never ask such a question. “Hanji is just a friend, I haven’t had a partner ever since getting the kids.” Relationships didn’t work out for Levi, nobody wanted to be with a newly single dad taking care of 2 babies at the age of 23 and he didn’t mind that, he much rather have his attention on the kids anyway. “Did you think they were Hanji and I’s?” He asks.

“Sorry, Mikasa does resemble you quite a bit and I was assuming Eren got his looks from Hanji.”

“Mikasa is a family relative, Eren however has no blood relationship between us.” Levi says, turning on the tv. He could hear little footsteps entering the living room, it was Mikasa who came up to him first, Eren and Armin were slowly following her lead.

“Dad,” she says looking up at him. “Play with us.”

“Play with you?” He asks, looking at the 2 boys who looked somewhat exhausted after being alone with Mikasa for less than 10 minutes. It seems that Mikasa had taken charge and was making all the plans for this playdate. “What shall we play?” Levi asks, looking down at his daughter. He looks over to Erwin, signaling him with his eyes, at first he was confused but as Mikasa kept talking Levi slowly pushed her towards Erwin, her surprisingly long chatter leaves her distracted in her own mind. Levi waves his hands to the boys, Eren was the first in his arms.

“Dad,” he whispers. “Mikasa is being weird.”

“Is she?” He asks, looking over at Erwin who was trying to stay interested in her chatter. “I think she’s just excited, you guys never had a friend come over.” He extends his arm out to Armin who hesitantly walks towards him. “How are you feeling Armin?” He asks, placing his hand on his blonde hair.

“I feel good Mr. Levi.” He says quietly. If Levi were to run into Erwin that day at the park instead of his sister he would’ve mistaken the child as his own.

“Well I’ll save everyone from Mikasa weirdness.” He whispers back, he clears his throat, turning down the volume on the tv. “Who wants candy?” He asks out loud, he could see the kids eyes widen with excitement, all three children start screaming, grabbing onto Levi’s clothes. “Well how am I supposed to get us sweet treats when you’re all clinging onto my clothes?” He waits as the kids uncling to him, he walks to the kitchen with all three children following him like he was a mother duck, Erwin followed as well. “Does Armin have any allergies I should be worried about?” He asks looking over to Erwin.

“No but he shouldn’t have anything overly sticky or chewy.”

Levi opens the cabinet besides the fridge, taking out his little stash of candy. The stash was used to persuade the kids when they were acting naughty, basically only ever used when Eren was being difficult and when Mikasa was doing something right. “Here you go.” Levi says handing them lollipops, Eren got his favorite flavor green apple, Mikasa got her favorite cherry and brought the bag to Armin so that he could choose his favorite, he picked out the orange flavored one.

“I’d like one as well.” Erwin says walking up to him as the line of children disappeared to the playroom. Levi hands him the bag, letting him pick whatever he wants as he makes himself a cup of coffee. “I hope you don't mind me asking,” he says, putting the candy in his mouth. “How’d you get the kids?”

“Mikasa’s parents died when she was a baby, I was her only living relative but I couldn’t take her in yet so she was placed into foster care. She was placed with Eren’s family, I met his parents and got to know them a bit before trying to get my life together. I got a call one night saying that his parents were in a car crash, I was still Mikasa’s next of kin so they called me from the hospital asking if I could take them so I took both of them in and raised them as my own. Officially adopted them when they were two and they’ve been my pride and joy ever since.” Levi remembered that day like it was yesterday. Carrying two babies into his shitty apartment that he had shared with Hanji, the endless nights of their crying and the constant fear of messing these kids up. Levi would say the kids ended up alright. “What about you, do you have any kids yet?”

“No not yet, I haven’t found the right person to have kids with.”

“And who’s the right person for you then?” Levi asks, not meaning to intrude.

“Anyone who can handle me, I’ve been told I’m difficult to deal with.”

“Well let me just say when you have kids it’s hell.”

“I bet it is,” Erwin says with a chuckle. “But would you do it all over again.”

“In a heartbeat.” Levi responds, not needing to think.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been writing this chapter for WEEKS, my exams got me behind. ANYWAYS. Hoped you guys enjoyed!!!!


	3. New Years Kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter unlike my other ones is UNEDITED. please excuse any mistakes. I will fix them whenever I have time  
> this chapter was originally suppose to be uploaded the first week of January and now this is the final week of January.... haha... sorry but hope y'all enjoy :)))))))

The holidays weren’t Levi’s favorite time of the year, before his mother’s death she worked 3 jobs to support him, barely giving any attention to him, let alone celebrating the holidays and when he was left in Kenny’s care he never did anything, he was always out of the house, barely around as Levi grew up. The holidays were just another day, another boring day but when the kids were brought into his life he decided to change that. The first Christmas they spent together was a small one, Levi and Hanji were still living together at the time and they had just gotten hired at this news broadcasting place. They had a small little tree that was decorated with lights and a few presents underneath the tree, it was the first Christmas Levi had celebrated. The kids who were 1 at the time got toys, even though they were too young to remember anything Levi still wanted to celebrate so that he could capture the memory. Now his kids were old enough to understand what Christmas was, know who Santa was and remember what gifts they got until they got older. The holidays weren’t lonely for Levi anymore, he still didn’t like this time of the year but at least he wasn’t lonely anymore.

“Stop shooting your sister before I take that gun and never give it back.” He warns Eren. Hanji had gotten him a nerf gun for Christmas, wasn’t Levi’s favorite thing in the world but Eren kept asking for it and Hanji caved in. Levi hated that thing, the first couple days after Christmas he kept finding bullets all around the apartment, underneath the couch, in his bed, in the bathroom, it was driving him insane, not to mention the many instances of him injuring Mikasa and himself. Levi wanted to take the gun and shoot Hanji in the face but luckily the nerf bullets were slowly disappearing and all he’ll have left is a gun with no bullets.

“It doesn’t hurt dad.” Eren says aiming the gun at Levi’s leg.

“It does hurt, don’t shoot dad.” Mikasa argues.

“Shoot that thing at me and you’ll never see any type of nerf gun ever.” He threatens, Eren puts the gun down, hiding it behind his back.

The small Ackerman family were getting ready for Hanji’s annual New Years party, everyone in their friend group was excited for the party, Hanji was the first person to have a house big enough to throw a party as extravagant as they wanted, before it would be in their crammed, dirty, work infested apartment but now they had a room for that. The kids were excited, they never got to stay up past their bedtime and this would be the only time Levi would allow it, Eren and Mikasa kept having arguments over who’ll fall asleep first and Levi has his money on Eren.

“Shoes on, toys left behind and wear your big coats.” He tells his children shooing them out of the bathroom they were in. Levi was giving them all haircuts, his hair was way too long for his liking and Eren and Mikasa needed a trim. The kids ran to their room to grab their things as Levi grabbed the wine he was bringing over. The kids got everything they wanted for Christmas, Eren wanted an assortment of toys, he almost got every toy he wanted that wouldn’t make a mess and Mikasa asked for the same thing, an assortment of toys ranging from cars that she could play with Armin and Eren and a doll that looked like her, she also asked for sparkly light up shoes that made Levi want to puke while looking at them.

“Dad!” Mikasa yells, running out to the kitchen. “Tell Eren the teddy bear coat is mine!” Following her was Eren who had the teddy bear coat on.

“Hanji said it was our to share, you wore it last time so now it’s my turn!”

“No I wore it in the morning and you wore it when we went to play in the snow.”

“No I didn’t, I wore the coat that looks like this one!” Levi tried his best not to roll his eyes at them, he couldn’t believe they were fighting over something so small. For Christmas, one of the many gifts they received from Hanji was a fluffy teddy bear coat, the hood had teddy bear ears and it made them look insanely cute, the downside was there was only one left and the kids had to share until Levi or someone else could buy a second one.

“Dad tell him it’s my turn.” Mikasa says, giving him a look.

“No, it’s my turn!” Eren yells, it was obvious that someone was getting the coat and if they weren’t they were gonna be late to Hanji’s party.

“Leave it, we’re not going to be fighting over clothes, Hanji said they’ll buy another one when they’re in stock. Don’t make me take it away.” He threatens, his threats usually worked but he could see it in his kids eyes that they didn’t want to listen. Levi stares back at them giving them a final warning which leads Mikasa to take off the jacket, putting it back in their room, she comes out with a different jacket.

When they arrived at Hanji's house the driveway and street were filled with cars. A couple of cars must be friends of Hanji’s he hasn’t met yet, most of the cars were their co-workers, something he wasn’t excited for was seeing some of them after hours, his kids on the other hand were very excited. The kids had a love hate relationship when it came to big crowds of people, they loved the attention they got from people because it usually ended with them getting candy but they always felt overwhelmed as more eyes were on them, hopefully with everyone they knew they wouldn’t feel too overwhelmed. Levi opens the door to hear Hanji’s high pitch scream making him flinch, Eren and Mikasa were already walking over to some of Levi’s co-workers.

“Levi!” Hanji yells walking away from the dining table, red solo cups were scattered everywhere, most likely filled with shitty beer as if they were still in college. “I thought you were gonna get here a bit earlier, had to call Petra to come help set things up.”

“How many times do I have to tell you not to use my personal assistant for things outside of work?”

“She’s like a mini you.”

“No one is a mini me.” He says pointing his finger. “The kids were being difficult, that's why I’m late.”

“Anyways, it’s not like I overworked her or anything, I rewarded her by letting her get dibs on the good stuff first.”

“Isn’t she a lightweight?” He asks, not really remembering the last time he had gone drinking with her. All Hanji does is point to the living room where she was, she was sitting on the couch with a drink in her hand, her face was definitely flush and she was more giggly than before but that could’ve been because of the guy who was probably flirting with her. “Hope you took her keys.”

“Took everyone’s keys, speaking of which.” They say, sticking their hand out. Levi couldn’t help but roll his eyes, he didn’t plan on drinking with the kids around, plus he knew his limit.

“Don’t accidentally give my keys to someone else, the kids' car seats are expensive.”

“Whatever, please go be social to the few people you like and come help me win beer pong, Moblit isn’t doing as good as I hope he was.”

Instead of being social Levi made his way to the balcony, he himself wasn’t a big friend of crowds either. The balcony was empty of course, anyone with half a brain knew better than to be outside in the harsh Chicago winters. Levi didn’t mind the cold, he would head back inside once he couldn’t feel his toes anymore but until then he’ll spend his time out here. 

Levi reached into his pocket grabbing a cigarette and lighter. He pressed the cigarette into his lips, slowly inhaling, feeling the burn in his chest. It’s been awhile since he smoked, promised Hanji he would cut down and promised his kids he wouldn’t smell like tobacco anymore, but one cigarette never hurt anyone.

The door behind him opened, he didn’t make an attempt to turn around to see who it was knowing that none of his friends were smokers or were fans of the cold. Must’ve been one of Hanji’s old friends. 

“Do you have a light?” A deep voice asks him. Levi turns around with his lighter out and is met with a familiar face.

“Mike?” He says, sounding surprised.

“I thought you quit smoking?”

“Forget my smoking habits, when the hell did you get back?”

“Got back a few days ago, I knew Hanji was still throwing their annual holiday party so decided to surprise some old friends and guess which friend I didn’t see?” He says pointing back at him. “I had a feeling you were out here.”

The only person who helped take care of the kids other than Hanji was Mike. When they first met each other they didn’t like each other, Levi thought he was weird and Mike thought he was an ass but that changed one night when Levi needed help with the kids. After that they’ve been friends ever since even though their feelings for each other still stayed the same. The three of them worked together up until last year when Mike was offered a promotion, that promotion making him move to New York.

“The kids got bigger.” Mike says, stating the obvious.

“I know, by this rate they’ll be taller than me in no time.” Levi is met with a laugh. “How’s New York, Nanaba and the job?” He asks.

“New York is not much different than Chicago, the smell and rats is something you’ll eventually get used to.”

“That’s gross.”

“The job is fine, the same job I had here just in New York and Nanaba is doing well. The sudden move was hard for her but we’re doing well.”

“You guys finally engaged yet?” He asks. Mike and Nanaba have been together for years, it was time for Mike to finally tie the knot.

“You finally got a boyfriend yet?” Mike asks back, avoiding his question.

“I don’t have time for relationships, men are stupid.”

“I completely agree.”

Levi drops his cigarette, stomping it out, Mike did the same. They both stood in silence, letting the cold air hit their face. The blanket of snow that covered everything made everything quiet, made Levi feel at peace, not overwhelmed with his kids or his job, it was just quiet, making him not wanting winter to end. Levi turns around heading straight for the door as Mike stood still watching the snowfall.

“I plan on proposing soon.” Mike says quietly, making Levi stop in his tracks. “Nanaba deserves it, I deserve it.” 

“Congratulations Mike, tell me more inside, my toes are freezing.” He says entering the warm house. It felt like there were more people than there was before, Levi couldn’t believe how many friends Hanji had. 

“Dad!” Eren yells running from across the room. “Did you see uncle Mike, I saw uncle Mike, he told me not to tell you but I guess I just did, but if you didn’t see uncle Mike yet he’s definitely not here!” He sputters out, obviously in a sugar rush.

“Hanji gave him candy.” Mikasa says, appearing at his side.

“I can tell.” 

“Dad, you smell bad.” Mikasa says, taking a whiff of him. “I thought you stopped smoking?” She asks with wide eyes.

“Mike forced me, beat him up when he comes back in.”

“Yeah beat Mike up!” Eren yells. Levi couldn’t help but laugh.

“Uncle Mike!” Mikasa yells, staring at the man wipe his shoes as he comes back inside. “Dad isn’t supposed to smoke and you forced him, how could you.” She kicked him in the leg, it wasn’t a hard kick, not anything that would injure him in any way but Mike still went down, acting as if he was brutally injured.

“I'm so sorry, please forgive me Mikasa.”

“No forgiveness!” Eren yells, running to his sister, helping her beat up Mike. Usually he would intervene but watching Mike get beat up by 4 year olds is hilarious.

“There you are!” Someone says, grabbing Levi’s attention away from the kids, the subtle screams was enough for Levi to know what was happening. “When Mike didn’t come back in I had a feeling he was talking to you.” Nanaba says with a drink in her hand.

“Nanaba, looking good as ever.”

“Forget me, look at you, still single?” She asks, standing next to him.

“It seems my relationship status is all anyone ever cares about.”

“That’s not true,” she says handing him her cup. “we care about your kids more.” They both watch the trio unfold themselves, Mike puts in a few solid “punches” to Eren which made Mikasa upset. She started to kick a little harder. Levi knew he should've yelled at her, told her to ease up a bit but Mike was handling it, grabbing her and hanging her upside down. Eren was jumping up and down, wanting him to do the same.

“Mike has a friend you should meet.”

“Nanaba no.”

“Hear me out,” she says, taking a sip of her drink. “He’s a good guy, good looking, nice, friendly with kids, but he has a hectic work schedule so if you ever feel overwhelmed by him tell him you’re busy with work and he’ll understand.”

“I’m not looking for a relationship Nanaba.” He says calmly, understanding where she was coming from. Everyone wanted him to be with someone, didn’t want him to feel lonely as they are getting older now.

“Mike invited him to the party, just check him out and I’ll put in a good word for you.”

“Nanaba-” Before he could stop her from spewing nonsense she had disappeared to save Mike from the kids. Feeling somewhat overwhelmed he decided to head to the kitchen to go through Hanji’s fridge, he didn’t want to drink, didn’t plan on drinking because the kids were here but he couldn’t help but cave in. He knew that with Hanji’s friends that he hadn’t met with, they would be trying to set him up somehow but he wouldn’t let anyone get to him. He grabbed a beer out of the fridge before walking over to Hanji and Moblit who were still playing beer pong.

“Moblit get out of here, the king of beer pong is here!” They say aggressively, pushing him out of the way, poor Moblit looked almost exhausted from just standing there.

“I don’t know about the king of beer pong Hanji, we’re not in college anymore.”

“You still have good aim so don’t bring me down, I made Moblit drink all the beer.”

“The king of beer pong is playing!” Mike says, walking over with excitement on his face. “If Levi’s playing I just know that competitive beer pong is on the table.”

“Mike you should play with us, it’s been a long time since the three of us did something like this.”

“Hey one of us has to be sober, no intoxicated idiots will be taking care of my kids.”

“Nanaba just put them to bed, they both complained about being tired so we shall be tired idiots all night.” Mike says, kicking out the other people at the other side of the table. “Since it’s two against one Hanji should team with me.”

“Why do I have to be alone?”

“Because you’re the king of beer pong.” Mike explains.

“As much as you guys claim that I’m the king of beer pong I think we’re all forgetting that Hanji is the only one who’s actually good. This is so unfair.” He says, watching Hanji walk towards the otherside,  _ traitor _ , he thought to himself. “Moblit, sober up and play with us.” He was passed out, mouth wide open, breathing slowly. 

“Don’t worry I have a good friend coming over, he should be here any moment.” Levi couldn’t help but down his beer. This was the friend that Nanaba was talking about, the one that he should check out. Levi had met most of Mike’s friends, most of his friends were friends of his since they shared the same circle, Mike always spoke highly about his best friend and for a moment Levi wondered if he actually existed. In the almost six years of knowing him he had never met him, no one has for the exception of Nanaba. 

“We’re your only good friends.” Hanji states, setting up the table.

“Are you sure he isn’t a figment of your imagination?”

“Fuck off.” Mike says throwing ping pong balls at them.

“Don’t start throwing shit, I’m not cleaning up your mess tomorrow.” He threatened.

The front door to Hanji’s house had opened up, Levi knew that there were more than enough people that Hanji had invited so this had to be Mike’s friend. A part of Levi was intrigued, a mysterious friend they haven’t met yet. Maybe Levi should take Nanaba’s offer, a relationship wasn’t something he was looking for but having fun wasn’t something he was opposed to. 

“Erwin!” Mike yelled greeting his friend and Levi couldn’t help but furrow his brows. The tall blonde man that he had seen recently was the friend Mike spoke nonstop about, the friend Nanaba wanted to set him up with. He would’ve been happy to tell Nanaba that he was interested but the girl wrapped around him said otherwise. “Marie.” He says, sounding surprised. It seemed her presence was a surprise to everyone.

“We meet again.” He says, staring at Levi. 

“You’ve guys know each other?” Mike asks, butting in.

“Yeah, race car driver Erwin Smith, the kids had a playdate with his nephew, he was there instead of Alice.” He says not staring back at him, he acted busy, pretending to fix the cups, picking up the ping pong balls Mike had thrown earlier.

“Now we can play beer pong!” Hanji yells with excitement.

“Can we switch teams?” Levi asks. “No offense, I'm competitive and I know Mike sucks, so I want Hanji on my side.”

“Teams are official, you’ll have Erwin and I’ll have Hanji.”

Levi couldn’t help but look over at the tall blonde, the last two times he had seen him he was wearing different clothes that didn’t match him at all but what he was wearing seemed to work. A nice loose fitting button down and some black slacks, it was much different from the racing uniform he had to wear or the sweats he wore during the playdate. He watched him lean over towards Marie, placing a gentle kiss on her cheek, so much for setting him up Nanaba.

“I haven’t played beer pong in forever.” Erwin says, making conversation.

“These two play it non stop,” he says pointing at the otherside of the table. “You would think a college game would stay in college but no, these two play it religiously.”

“Ready to lose Mike?” Erwin asks, holding a ball in his hand.

“As if, we both know I’m better than you.”

“Well I have Levi.” he says, placing his hands on Levi’s shoulders. Levi couldn’t help but tense up, thankfully he didn’t notice. 

Beer pong went as expected, they played about 4 rounds and Levi lived up to his title each round, he was in fact still the king of beer pong. Mike and Hanji were obviously intoxicated from all the beer they had drank, Nanaba and Marie were both laughing at them. Erwin wasn’t drunk, for the most part he played just as well as Levi, and when the other two made a shot he offered to take his drink. Levi was happy not to drink shitty beer, it made him more focused on taking down the other two without the taste of shit beer in his mouth but that didn’t stop him from bossing Moblit around, forcing him to give him a couple shots of vodka as each round went. 

Levi felt weird around Erwin, he didn’t know why, he couldn’t explain it either but Erwin just made him feel uneasy. He would almost say that Erwin gave him butterflies but that couldn’t be possible, he barely knew the man.

Everyone around them cheered them on, Levi could stand another minute standing up, throwing balls into plastic cups, he was glad this was over. Instead of cleaning up, he walked over towards Mike, whispering in his ear that he would be outside for a cigarette and that he should join him. He walked outside to the balcony, meeting the harsh winter air again. He pulled out a cigarette and his lighter, admiring the peace and quiet.

“You don’t like me don’t you?” Erwin asks, following Levi outside. 

“What makes you think that?” He asks back, while Erwin wasn’t wrong, he wasn’t right either. 

“You seem tense around me, not making eye contact with me as I talk to you, when you talk to me you sound formal while with Mike or Hanji you sound so relaxed.”

“Observant aren’t you?”

“It’s the lawyer side of me.”

“It’s not that I don’t like you,” he explains. “I just don’t know you, our first meeting was work related, our second meeting was not planned, and now-“

“I want you to like me Levi.” He says, cutting him off, making Levi’s heart skip a beat. He was pretty sure he was blushing but thankfully the cold air was there to cover it up. “We have the same friends and our paths will cross because of work. I think you’re rather enjoyable.” He whispers.

“You want me to put a label on things fine, there, we’re officially friends.” He put the cigarette against his lip, inhaling deeply, he didn’t realize that Erwin had come closer thanks to the big cloud he had exhaled.

Before Erwin could say anything Marie rushed outside, telling him to come back inside, since midnight was almost here. Erwin looked back at Levi, waiting for him to join him but Levi made it clear that he was gonna finish up this cigarette before he did anything else.

_ 10 _

Everyone gathered around the tv watching the clock count down. Levi couldn’t help but stare at Erwin as he came back inside, his arm around his date’s waist, his laugh as she whispered something in his ear. Everyone around him had someone in their arms, ready to be kissed at midnight. 

_ 9 _

Levi looked back at Hanji who was cozied up against Moblit, both of them smiling and laughing at each other.

_ 8 _

Levi sat down on the couch, there was no need for him to be standing around the tv. “Are you sure you don’t want a New Years Kiss?” Hanji asks. 

“No Hanji, I’m fine.” He says waving his hand. 

_ 7 _

Nanaba and Mike run into the other room. Guess a New Years Kiss wasn’t the only thing they were getting. 

_ 6 _

Levi laid down, his head facing the ceiling, although it was loud he could fall asleep in a matter of seconds. He closed his eyes listening to all of his friend’s excitement as they were seconds away from the new year. 

_ 5 _

Levi never understood what there was to be so excited about. Each year something shitty happened anyways. 

_ 4 _

Levi heard the door open back up again, it was Mike and Nanaba, he could tell from how heavy footed Mike was. They both walked near him, Levi was too tired to open up his eyes to see what they wanted. 

_ 3 _

There was a familiar scent in the air, it almost smelt like Mike’s cologne mixed with Mikasa’s mixed berry body lotion. 

_ 2 _

Levi opened his eyes once he realized that the overwhelming scent wasn’t going away.

_ 1 _

“Happy New Year!” His children yell, surprising him. They got down from Mike and Nanaba’s arms, both of his children surrounding him with a smile on their faces. 

“I thought you guys were sleeping?” Levi asks, placing his hands on top of their heads. “Left me out here all alone, dear old dad with no one.”

“It was a surprise!” Eren says rather quickly thinking that Levi’s feelings were actually hurt. 

“I’m kidding Eren, of course you two surprised me, nothing I didn’t expect of course.” With him saying that he saw his son grow restless with his emotions, unaware of how to react, he was all flustered. 

“Happy New Year dad.” Mikasa says, placing a kiss on his cheek. Eren followed her this time placing a kiss on his forehead. 

“Happy New Year kids.” He says, taking them into his arms, showering them with kisses.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is more of a note for myself since I am very forgetful but Levi is 27-28, Erwin is in his early 30s, Eren is 4 and Mikasa is 5.
> 
> hope y'all enjoy!!


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